Isaiah 41:8-20

⁸ But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
⁹ you whom I took from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant;
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
¹⁰ do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

¹¹ All who are incensed against you
shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
¹² You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
¹³ For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,
I will help you.”

¹⁴ Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you maggot^[a] Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
¹⁶ You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷ When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open rivers on the bare heights
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
and the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹ I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
²⁰ so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

For generations, the people of God have faced challenges by their foes. We are the people who walked in darkness ….) So goes life. But the good news of future hope came with rich images. Rivers and trees and good things will come from God. There are still dark moments in our lives as the people of God. But as a Christmas tree finds its place in the center of celebrations, let’s rejoice that God, the hand of the Lord, provides what we need.

Prayer

Thank you, God, for the springs of water that come to me in the dry land. And thank you for the shade and the food that is provided by cedars and olive trees that you have placed in my own personal wilderness. You give me what I need through my Lord and Savior, Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.